6533b86efe1ef96bd12cc8d7

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Parental Distress and Perception of Children’s Executive Functioning after the First COVID‐19 Lockdown in Italy

Gioacchino LavancoSofia BurgioConcetta PolizziMarianna Alesi

subject

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)business.industrymedia_common.quotation_subjectRCOVID-19CognitionGeneral Medicineparental distressBurnoutExecutive functionsArticleparental distress; COVID-19; children; executive functioningCompetence (law)Settore M-PSI/04 - Psicologia Dello Sviluppo E Psicologia Dell'EducazionechildrenPerceptionMedicineMedicineSocial mediabusinessParental distressexecutive functioningmedia_commonClinical psychology

description

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and the consequential first italian lockdown to minimize viral transmission, have resulted in many significant changes in the every-day lives of families, with an increased risk of parental burnout. This study explores the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy on parental distress and parental perceptions of children’s executive functions (EFs). Participants were 308 Italian parents with children between 4 and 17 years of age; they were recruited through online advertisements on websites and social media, and they were given an online survey. The measures were: the balance between risks and resources (BR2) and the executive functioning self-report (EF). Findings of the study suggest that the most distressed parents perceived their children as less competent in EF, highlighting a cognitive fragility on attention, memory, and self-regulation (Pearson correlation coefficient, p < 0.05); significant differences were found between parents of children exhibiting typical and atypical patterns of development (ANOVA, p < 0.05). The study reinforces the need to provide families with psychological aid to support parental competence in restrictive lockdown conditions.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2021-09-15
10.3390/jcm10184170http://hdl.handle.net/10447/521331